Automation is becoming a "software" industry, and in the era of intelligence, software is becoming the key to competition in the automation industry.
The most significant change in the automation industry over the past decade has been the increased prominence of "software." Today, automation is rarely defined solely by hardware products like PLCs, servo drives, and HMIs; instead, it is increasingly characterized by software features, encompassing several aspects:
(1) Integrated Development Platform: Since the integration of solutions requires more flexible and efficient tools, the integrated development platform has become the key to realizing the "solution". With application development for all objects and the whole process, engineers no longer need to switch between multiple software programs, nor do they need to spend a lot of energy on software incompatibility.
(2) Modeling and simulation: It is the source of original design. Through modeling and simulation, development time can be greatly saved and the consumption of physical materials in the testing and verification process can be reduced, thereby reducing R&D costs.
(3) Mechatronics integration: Through software such as PLCopen standardization and Part IV collaborative motion control, people can perform unified programming for positioning synchronization control, CNC and robots, thereby enabling seamless coupling between machines and production lines.
(4) Knowledge automation: Experience and know-how accumulated in long-term development can be encapsulated in software and reused, and low-code development mode makes the system more efficient in responding to market changes.
(5) Software Engineering: Not only is it a core technology of software, but the complexity of software also poses new challenges to engineers' software engineering capabilities. Version control and code standardization in integrated development platforms have become urgent requirements. The software engineering capabilities required of engineers are also higher than those of PLC programming, which was mainly based on ladder diagrams in the past.
(6) Integration of smart factories: MES between machines and factories was originally classified as IT technology. However, edge computing, energy management and predictive maintenance have adopted the integration of IT and OT and entered the manufacturing site in the form of software.
All of this tells us that the automation industry is becoming a software industry, changing the future of the entire industry and bringing broader opportunities to the manufacturing sector.
For machines and factories, efficient software development has become crucial. Over the past 10 years, B&R has been committed to modular software development and design. Its mapp has been iterated over 10 years and has provided a wealth of applications for various machine manufacturing fields. Based on Automation Studio, these software programs, which are designed with strict standards and specifications and have been verified by a large number of field practices, are giving machines flexibility.
To illustrate how mapp's modular design philosophy improves machine development efficiency, we will use an injection molding machine as an example:
Figure 2 shows an injection molding machine, which consists of various apps. These apps are combined in different ways depending on the type of injection molding machine, such as hydraulic, servo pump, all-electric, two-platen, and vertical injection molding machines.
(1) Basic software: such as production alarms, formula management, user management, equipment status display and other basic APPs;
(2) Basic control: The control of the hydraulic system, the control of multiple temperature zones, and the transmission control of screw extrusion are all basic process controls of injection molding machines;
(3) Professional functions: The processes of injection molding, melting molding, mold opening and closing, pressure holding, and ejector pins are closely related;
(4) Network interconnection: consists of remote diagnosis, maintenance, network connection, etc.
Figure 4 illustrates the collaboration between the injection molding machine and the robot. By designing the coordination between the coordinates of the mechanical center, the robot TCP, and the conveyor belt (based on PLCopen collaborative motion control), the production sequence of the injection molding machine is matched with the time reference of the robot and the conveyor belt. After production is completed, the robot arm/robot can remove the finished product and send it to the conveyor belt or subsequent inspection unit.
These can all be achieved by adding new features to the app.
Figure 5 shows the coordination between the injection molding machine, the robot, and the production batching and weighing system. When the production process changes, the batching and weighing systems work in conjunction with the machine and realize software-customized process changes. Together with the robot and the conveying system, they form an "intelligent plastic processing unit" to form efficient continuous production and improve the overall manufacturing efficiency of plastic parts.
For mapp, not only can it realize machine control, but mapp's functions also endow the machine with the function of becoming a node in intelligent manufacturing, as shown in Figure 6, which includes the following aspects:
(1) Edge computing: OEE, scheduling, energy management and status monitoring can all be run by various APPs on the edge controller, which can be the embedded controller itself or OrangeBOX developed by B&R.
(2) mappVIEW is an HMI that is easier to access. Machine screens designed based on mappVIEW can be accessed by any terminal that supports HTML and JavaScript, such as mobile phones, PADs, and PCs. Moreover, its access is as convenient and intuitive as the iPhone that everyone uses every day.
(3) Data nodes: Through Euromap, the injection molding machine can be connected to the MES system or cloud application to realize the collection and transmission of injection molding machine data and apply it to intelligent optimization, etc.
These all exist in the form of software apps in the development of machines.
At ACW 2018, B&R will showcase various industry solutions based on mapp, and on the 15th, in Conference Room 205 of Zone C, B&R will share its application of software apps.
The software technology seminar has been moved to room 205.
